Thursday, March 27, 2014

Angels fans and beloved long time AngelsWin.com members, we did it! We reached and broke the TEN MILLION comments mark at AngelsWin.com during our 10th anniversary year. 10,000,024 to be exact as of 5:38 pm PST. Though by the time you've read this, we'll be well into the hundreds digit for sure.

That my friends is amazing if you think about it. Back on January 1st we announced our 10 year anniversary as a website so naturally Chuck Richter being a tech guy went to dig up the numbers from our old forum databases on previous AngelsWin.com message board platforms over the years and has been calculating the numbers ever since. Earlier this afternoon Chuck notified us that we both hit and broke the 10 million post mark.

Thank you for being a valued AngelsWin.com member, supporter and follower over the years Angels fans and friends! Thank you for calling AngelsWin.com your internet home for Angels community and talk 24/7. Thank you for celebrating our 10th anniversary with us this season.

Ten years. That’s a long time. In internet years, that’s almost an eternity.

Think back: where were you 10 years ago? What were you doing? Where did you go to talk Angels baseball?

They say that all it takes for good things to happen is that someone stands up and says I’ll do it. And that’s how AngelsWin.com started— Chuck Richter looked around the internet at the limited options for Angels fans and decided that Angels fans needed and deserved an internet site to call their own. He created AngelsWin.com: a website by Angels fans for Angels fans.

When AngelsWin.com started, it was a small group of friends who got together to talk Angels baseball. There was a lot to talk about: The memories of the 2002 Championship Team were still strong. Arte Moreno made a big splash by signing Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, and Kelvim Escobar. The team seemed poised for a spectacular run.

Not one to be complacent, Chuck wanted to do more than just talk about the Angels. He wanted to help shape the conversation. So, he started reaching out to members on the site and leveraging contacts with the Angels to give Angels fans their own unique perspective where they would drive the course of the conversation.

By doing that, AngelsWin.com became dubbed the “Voice of the Fans” by KNX 1070 AM Radio. Whenever they, or for that matter any media outlet, needed an Angels fan’s perspective, they contacted AngelsWin.com. Whether it was providing commentary for USA Today during the playoffs, commenting on the Dan Haren trade on XM Radio, or giving a perspective on the ongoing negotiations between the team and the City on CNN Latino, AngelsWin.com has been there to be the voice of the fans.

As the website grew, Chuck wanted to branch out into all things related to Angels baseball. For hardcore fans, that meant branching out into all levels of the organization. AngelsWin.com started providing prospect lists, bios, and updates. As the connections between the website and the players grew, we got them to write blogs on our site to give fans a unique perspective into their lives. Over time, we began to advertise with Angels affiliates.

As the collection of writers grew, more possibilities opened for the website. At first it was a few interviews, almost all of which were audio recorded. Hours were spent transcribing them for fans to make them useful for fans. In time, it grew to video interviews and holiday greetings.

Through the steady and professional work put forth by the website, the Angels front office began to pay attention to AngelsWin.com. They became more receptive to our interview requests giving us the chance to truly shape the conversation. AngelsWin.com arranged for online chat interviews with Eddie Bane, the Director of Scouting for the Angels. He gave fans true insights into the development of players who would go on to become staples of the team. Soon, doors opened with Abe Flores, Tony Reagins and Jerry Dipoto.

With content like that, more fans kept coming. Soon AngelsWin.com was busting at the seams and the website needed to be redesigned to handle the volume of traffic. Shortly thereafter, a second redesign had to be done. And by 2013, we had already done our 4th expansion to handle all the Angels traffic. What had once been a little chatboard had become mainstream.

AngelsWin.com has always been about the community. And, there’s no better way to build community than to get people together in person. So, in 2006, a group from AngelsWin.com decided to meet up in Spring Training. At a bar called Hail Marys they met, ate food, drank suds, and relished in Angels’ stories. And thus, the Spring Training Fanfest was born.

But, as with the website itself, the Spring Training Fanfests grew until they too burst at the seams. Within a few years, the crowd could no longer fit into Hail Mary’s—a new location had to be found. Soon, getting together just once a year as a community wasn’t enough; a summer Fanfest at the Big A was added including charity events dedicated to raising funds for the O.C. Miracle League. Even that has grown in just a few short years to include a charity golf tournament, a golf tournament, and a whole weekend of fun.

In 2012, Arte Moreno, the Angel’s owner attended our Spring Training Fanfest to take questions directly from the fans. Since then, Jerry Dipoto, the Angels General Manager, Tim Salmon, Angels regulars, top prospects and all the Angels reporters have come to speak with our ever growing community.

Along the way, AngelsWin.com got credentialed to sit in the press box. Then, we got credentialed to be in the clubhouse and conduct interviews. And, finally, we were invited to the press conferences where we were allowed to ask a question on live national TV!

But really, AngelsWin.com is all about you, the fans. It’s about the community that comes here daily, follows us on Twitter and Facebook, and engages with one another.

So, how shall celebrate our 10-year anniversary? By honoring you, our fans. Over the next year, we will be interviewing members of our community to tell their stories, to share their favorite memories, to relive their greatest moments.

Of course we will continue to do all that makes AngelsWin.com THE internet home for Angels fans. We will continue to debate all things that are Angels baseball. We will continue the Fanfests. We will continue to provide content, news, and prospect lists. We will have our game day chats and our interviews.

As we begin the second decade of our existence, we want to thank you, our fans for making it all possible. What started as an idea 10 years ago has grown into so much more. As each of you has joined our site and encouraged others to come, we have continued to grow and expand our offerings to make AngelsWin.com truly a 24/7 community by Angels fans, for Angels fans.

Be sure to check out our latest amazing interviews with Tim Mead, Jerry Dipoto, Kole Calhoun, Hector Santiago and the media from our #AWFanfest14 Spring event earlier this month -- and tune into our Podcast this Sunday night at 7pm, on the eve of the Angels season opener at home against the Seattle Mariners. Our special guest is Jose Mota.

The true highlight for our staff was that we raised nearly $2500 for each of our two favorite charities in the OC Miracle League and the Angels RBI Foundation. That was a HUGE win for us and for them!

More importantly, we want you to be more involved this season on the Internet Home for Angels fans. As we celebrate 10 years, we have some incredible contests this season that will offer some amazing prizes. We're also delivering what we've called "The New Angels Fan Experience" for all of our members and daily viewers, so be sure to login to the forum and exchange opinion on topics, read the latest news and get some incredible statistical insight from some of the brightest fans and writers on the net.

If you're reading this for the first time and you've never been on our forum, what are you waiting for? Register for a free account today! Sign up here

Finally, save the dates guys and gals. Our Summer Fanfest will be held the weekend of June 20-22nd this summer when the Texas Rangers will be in town. We will have a Charity Golf Tournament on Friday, June 20th our Softball Tournament on the 21st, followed by a massive tailgater under the Big A and a surprise later that weekend.

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AngelsWin.com is a fan site by the fans, for the fans (Established 2004). Tabbed as the "Internet Home for Angels fans" our fan site produces incredible content from several talented writers, including exclusive interviews with front office members, Angels players & minor leaguers down on the farm. AngelsWin is a thriving community that boasts thousands of members & followers on the world wide web. AngelsWin.com - unraveling Angels Baseball one thread at a time.

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